The Mismatch - All-Star Shocks and Disappointments, Plus: Trade Rumors and Early Prospect Comps

Episode Date: January 6, 2023

Verno and KOC discuss the Celtics' blowout win over the Mavs as well the Magic’s bright future despite losing to the Grizzlies (01:19). The guys dive into the first results for the 2023 NBA All-Star game as they discuss what the fans got right, which players they were surprised to see, and which players they were disappointed were not on the list (16:08). The trade season is nearing in the NBA, and they discuss the rumors around D’Angelo Russell and Bojan Bogdanovic (39:50). Also, they discuss the latest injury news before ending the show with some draft talk (49:32). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, my name is Kevin Clark. I'm the host of a new football podcast called Slow Newsday. I want to tell you about it. On Mondays, Lindsay Jones and I will recap the weekend in football that was, as well as look ahead to what's next. On Wednesday, the normal Slow Newsday, the thing you've been watching for years, current players, current coaches, current analysts, talking about the football world.

And on Friday, it's a wild card. Could be some college football. Could be more pro stuff. It's a video podcast so you can watch it on Spotify or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts. Follow on Spotify. It's Slow Newsday. Welcome to The Mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon and joining me see does every Friday from The Ringer.com.

It's Kevin O'Connor, A.K.K. Kevin O'Bomber, Kevin O'Colker, Kevin O'Klymere, Kevin O'Champerty, Kevin O'Champton, Kevin O'Candiland. How are you doing? I'm great. We're recording this on a Thursday night. The game that just ended was the Boston Celtics versus the Dallas Mavericks. And this was one you could see coming from 100 miles away. The Boston Celtics had been totally humiliated in their game at Oklahoma City, giving up 150 points. Rock bottom, everybody's looking at each other. No SGA. What's going on? Yeah.

What's going on with this team? What happened to them? Why are they near the very bottom of the league in offense in the last? month like what what happened to the Celtics Joe Missoula we thought he was a good coach now it turns out the guy's a bozo and so you got all this stuff going on and Dallas meanwhile with Brooklyn losing the night before has the longest win streak in the NBA Luke is averaging almost 50 points a game in the last week and a half and they're seven and oh in their last seven and so Boston's going to go in to Dallas and of course Boston then smokes Dallas because of course they did after them coming

off what they came off at Oklahoma City and Dallas riding this seven game high. It felt like at least for one night it will see, you know, it has to last. It can't just be a blip. but we got the version of the Celtics that we all bought into at the beginning of the season rather than whatever the hell's been going on for the last couple of weeks. And Sard, right from the first points in the game with the Marcus Smart three-pointer at the top of the key, they had, I believe, seven passes on one possession, just really pinballing around the perimeter, five-out spacing, Mavs rotating constantly, and Smart ended up with an open three, and it was like that all night, Tatum ending up with 10,

assist. He was looking up with the scoreboard for that 10th assist before exiting out of the game for his triple double. But I mean, overall, I mean, Boston looked more like themselves offensively. And I do think it's also worth saying, though, Dallas was missing some key guys. They are without now, Finney Smith, Kleba, and Green. So they are missing three key defensive players in their rotation. They're very short-handed right now. I mean, like they have, you know, Hardy played 15 minutes, a rookie tonight. Millikena coming off the bench playing minutes with Luca. You know, like McGee even got out there late in the game. He's even.

Well, what's crazy. You look, when you're playing on a team with Luca, you got to knock down threes. Oh, yeah. They're seven for 32. They can't, they couldn't make anything. Now, part of that is who's taking them. And Luca didn't look like himself either, Chris. Oh, for sure.

I mean, that's what's going on there. They're saying he's not sick, but he's holding them. in his chest, he's huffing and puffing. That was bizarre. That was really strange. Yeah, and, you know, I said they made seven threes. Three of them were that kid that you mentioned, Hardy, who earlier in the year,

you remember I said, I'm so excited, I'm going to go to this G-League game tonight, I'm going to get to check him out, and he had gotten called up that night, so I didn't see him. He had averaging almost 30 a game. Like, for a team that has had such a difficult time, drafting, developing, and getting players within their organization over the last several years

and certainly around Luca. You know, the green thing's gotten better. We mentioned some of the lineups with him have been rather successful. And they may have something with the Hardy kid. They might, right? I mean, the guy, the guy could score for sure. Not so far in the NBA, but like in the G league, he was crushing. Yes.

Like, if he performed the way he did in the G League last year, he stunk last year. After excelling in high school, he stunk his first year in the G league. His draft stock plummets. He goes 37. But then this year he's amazing. Right now he's just not scoring in the NBA. But I'm with you, Chris. Like what we saw, which he didn't get the scene in person, but we all saw, you know,

a video. Like, he looked spectacular in the G league with his first stint. So you have to give him time. And I wonder how much, like, especially right now with Dallas being a bit short-handed. They may have three of their main rotation guys tonight. I wonder if we'll see Hardy crack 20, 25 minutes on any particular night. I mean, I understand, you know, investing in some others off that bench. I understand signing Kemba Walker and all that.

But I'd love to see Hardy get, you know, a heavy minutes night just to see what happens, just to throw him out there, right? That's right. And he's only a couple years removed from high school. He's just a kid. Like I said, he is just a kid. and he's a little, you know, I hate to make these comps, whatever,

but it's a little Anthony Simonsie, when he's at his best, you know, when he's at his best. I'll tell you this, people loved that kid coming out of high school. Oh, I had a top five.

Oh, they loved him. I had a top five. I think maybe at this time last year, January 5th, I probably had him still top 10 at this point, despite his struggles to start the year in the G League.

ended up dropping him, I think it's like 18, 19. I don't know what I had him at. Yeah, people loved him coming out of high school. I remember, Jaden Hart. Had him 17. That was my final ranking for him, 17th. Wow. Maybe a little too high, we'll see.

Maybe too low. I watched Grizzly's Magic. That was the early game that was on tonight. I was excited to see that magic front court and got the full version of them. Now, while the Grizzlies took care of business against them, Paulo Bancaro had a 20-point quarter tonight. That is not something you see from a rookie and another 30-point game. I believe I read that he has had four this season now.

Every other rookie combined has had four this season. And then Franz Wagner, who was not a part of the game, really, for the first three quarters, then just explode in the fourth quarter. And I think he had 20. I think it was two 20-point quarters from their guys. And again, this is not the year that the magic are supposed to be fully formed by any stretch of the imagination. But we've talked about this before. Those two guys and being able to build out around that,

there are very few situations in the league that I would look. look at more highly than having those two. I mean, you're going to have to screw it up, right? Obviously, you need some guards. You need some guards. But man, if you get him, Van Kero, he is going to be a superstar. That bucket, the spin move he had on Aldama. I mean, like, you saw the footwork and fluidity.

That's so rare for a player, not just his age, but his size. Like, that's crazy what he can do. Yeah. 20 years old. And scoring in different ways. Like the, that was the thing that I felt most watching the game is, you know, Wagner's 610 and he's getting buckets shooting threes, Bancarros, inside, he's outside.

Jaron Jackson Jr. on your side of things. He's 31 points, 12 or 14. He's, he's throwing down lob dunks. He's, you know, picking out loose balls and going coast to coast, then throwing hesitation dribble. to get to the basket. He's hitting threes off screens. It's like,

Biggs, nowadays, they just do it all. If you're 610, 611, 7 foot, we saw that with, you know, Jaron Jackson, Wagner, Van Kero, you can do anything on the court. And that's the way it's going to be forever now.

And we didn't even get Boul, tonight. Yeah, we didn't get Boulbole. So sad. I was so sad. All I wanted to see was Boll Boll. And I was like, all right, I guess I'll just watch these guys. Seven, eight minutes of Obama.

Yeah. Not much. Not much. But, man, I mean, if you're a magic fan, you got to be thrilled. You do. About those two. And just, I know, you never like losing games. But when you see stuff like that, two guys in the same game with 20-point quarters,

that is spectacular stuff, especially given that they're. first and second year players in the league. Against a good team, though, less. Against a team that's got the number one record in the Western Conference, which is crazy. Wendell Carter, have to mention him too. He's also another good front core player. I love him.

He's such a rock, solid player. I would rather have him than Busevich. Oh, for sure. And think about the other stuff that was included in that deal. I just did my, we're updating finally our, Ringer rankings, the top 100 rankings next week, I think it's supposed to be updated. And so I sent my new top, you know, 120 or whatever it was in today for like the average rankings.

I have Carter like 30 spots ahead of Booch. Like it's not even close. That's crazy. I mean, it's just so much better defensively. No, and you think about, I mean, that doesn't even include Franz. It doesn't even include, I mean, good. All three of them. Van Carroll, Wagner, Carter, you'd rather have, if you need to win a game today, like we've

talked about lining, you know, every player up against the wall. You take Bencaro, Wagner, and Carter all ahead of Vouch. No, no, no. I'm just talking about that deal. Oh, for sure. Oh, that deal specifically, but I'm just saying. Just that deal? I'd rather have Carter than Vouch.

Oh, I know. And I got frogs. That is the worst friggin' trade ever. Well, I mean, there's the Gober one, you know, depending on how that develops. I get it. I was going to be up there. I was being hyperbolic, but it's terrible. That was a bad trade.

I mean, it's funny, though, like, I guess not funny. It's kind of sad. That speaks to the, like, we argue all the time back and forth about tanking. There's risk in every approach. Like, you can play in the middle and, you know, then win a championship, or you can play in the middle and get lucky in the lottery and Landjama rant. Or you can play in the middle and say, we're going to trade for Rudy O'Bair, or we're going to trade for Nikola Vuccivic and screw it all up.

That can happen, too, by trying to try. trying to accelerate things and move too fast. No matter what, I think when I talk to people in the NBA, they say that the most important thing is, like, mistakes are always going to happen, right? Like, it's just the way it is. The most important thing is having an aligned direction in your organization. And sometimes along the way you make mistakes,

but having a purpose and a direction and no disagreement throughout. That's the key. And that's part of the reason that I always, we end up always disagreeing because typically all the guys that are part of like the tanking, their owners that it's a cool thing to sell for a minute, but nobody ends up being patient enough. And the coaches end up getting fired and the GMs end up getting fired. And nobody ever gets to see.

Colangelo takes Hinkie's job. Nobody ever gets to see it through. James Jones now runs the sons, right? They didn't get that. The guy that did all the tanking, he didn't get to see any of that through, right, that took place in Phoenix. And you could go on and on,

almost every situation. Like, outside of, like, you need support. I don't think anybody can withstand it, honestly. Sure. Yeah. I don't,

I don't think anybody can, like, withstand it and, like, just have somebody, I guess, a soft one in Cleveland. They kind of, you know, I obviously stood by Kobe and that crew.

But by the, way. Did you see a couple, maybe it was a couple, two, three weeks ago. After Matt Ishbia bought the Sons, Bill Simmons said on his podcast how he was just very much in passing, you know, that Matt Ishbia wants to make a splash in the front office and he kind of just threw out Sam Presti's name. Oh, wow. I haven't talked with Bill about that at all. Do you remember listening to that on the pod? Yeah, I remember hearing that. Not that. you mentioned it. I had not thought

much about it. I wonder. I mean, Presby's always seems to be the name. He was the name in Boston, right?

Like he always is the reason if Bill usually knows something if he's throwing stuff like that out there. Certainly he was the first one that I remember throwing out the name

Ishbia in the first place. Yeah, me too. I mean, I think he might even the only person who threw that name out. Yeah. I never heard of that.

That's why it's interesting. That's why it's interesting. I mean, I don't know. Just something on my mind. Looking to me at more out of this NBA season, well, now is the perfect time to download Fandul, America's number one sportsbook, because new customers get a no-swet first bet

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That's promo code mismatch. Make every moment more with Fandul, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. 21 plus in select states, first, online, real money wage, or only refund issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook. Fandul.com. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit fandul.com slash RG in Colorado, Iowa,

Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia. In Arizona, call 1-800 next step. In Connecticut, visit ccpg.org forward slash chat. In Indiana, call 1-800 with it. In Kansas, call 1,800 522470.7.7.7. Stop. In Maryland, I call 1-DGamblinghelp.org. In New York, call 1-8-Gamblinghelp.org. In New York, and Wyoming, call 1-8002-4-70-Gambler. Net. Big news today, Kev, about the All-Star voting because NBA fans are always fascinated with what the fan results are, or the voting results are. Something to get mad about. Yeah, sure, initially.

Yeah. Okay, so let's talk about what the fans have right so far. We know it's a popularity contest, but that doesn't mean it's not right. As of right now, according to the fans, the starters in the Western Conference would be Stefan Curry, Luca Donchich, LeBron James, Nicoliochich, and Anthony Davis. Not bad at all. Not bad at all. Not bad at all. popularity contest for sure on the Davis-Lebron front,

simply because of the situation that their teams are in. But it's not like you could look at their statistics and not think that they have performed at an all-star level. You would just argue that other guys that put up awesome stats on crap teams do not get this benefit, right? but if you're a liker, you do. For sure. Which is also why you know, you have Austin Reeves in the top 10.

Correct. And Russell Westbrook in the top 10. But ultimately, though, like there's 80 probably, you know, he might, he's probably going to win the vote, right, for the fans. But he's probably not going to win the player vote or the media vote unless he returns before voting actually happens in a couple of weeks. I mean, like ultimately, I think Zion or Lowry Mark and probably end up with that third front court spot, right? I think I would vote Zion right now. Like if you made me vote, if you made me vote.

Today you'd vote Zion. Team success, individual ability and obviously statistics. I could back up my argument with that. Beyond that, he's an awesome all-star game player to have. It is in Utah about that as well. I would think about that. Not that like he needs to start. Lowry Marketing should be an all-star.

49 points tonight, by the way. Really, really a terrible performance, not cracking 50. Terrible. Horrible. I might not even resonate. Yeah. I know. It's not going to earn him any more All-Star boats.

He's behind Paul George right now. Who would you put in? Let's just say LeBron and Yokinter there. Who would you put into the other front court spot? I think I'd give the slight edge to Zion at the moment. And Lowry would be, you know, right in there. He's definitely an all-star. but not ahead of Zion at the moment.

Zion's offensive load that he carries as a playmaker is just so much more significant than what Laurie does. And that's no knock on Larry. He's fantastic. He deserves to be an All-Star, but not more than Zion or even more than AD right now. But we'll see if AD even gets back and even is able to play in that game.

But I think the vote in the West is pretty good. I didn't think it was that bad. I mean, look, the Wiggins thing is stupid. And SGA, like you could argue, depending on how much time, he's supposed to be back next week. Like, Steph is going to start. He should start. But SGA is like the only other guy

I could see the argument with him saying like, oh, today, before Seth returns, you could say he's played more games and all that. But I'd give the edge to Steph still. I was shocked by SGA being fourth on the fan voting. Yep, but I

think it speaks to because you don't get if you're Oklahoma City, you don't get the benefit of the fan vote, right? You're not in New York. You're not in L.A. You're not one of the premier teams. You're never on national television. Triple the votes of Damien Lowe, Chris. Yeah. And that just means that there were, that fans out there have recognized how brilliant his season has been thus far. And you know, when you, when you get that many votes from a small market, that means,

that fans at large are recognizing your play thus far this season. Because as I said, you know, I mean, look, look right behind it. The next two guys are Clay and Westbrook, neither of which have any business being in the All-Star game. But because of their, you know, history and because of their markets, they're five and six. SGA is there simply by the season that he's had. And so I was proud of NBA fans on that level. That's usually one of those guys that has the trouble with the fan voting. You have trouble with the fan voting.

If you're playing in Oklahoma City on not a very good team that's never on television. But that was good. And I was, you know what I was a little surprised at? Booker. Booker at Low. He was like, neat, right? low well i was surprised him and dame were so low i mean they put his ass on the cover of two k yeah and dame and dame's all the way back to being dame and yet he had him and booker had less than russ

less than clay and clay like you got to give him credit like i think you said he has no business being an all-star he's played like it lately in recent weeks but this is a season thing i know but but when voting opened at like ever since then he's been playing like it so i think that probably skews it in his favor in that sense. Clayton should not be an all-star game. And Booker has also been out a lot of the time. The vote's been open as well, which is the flaw and fan voting. I mean, I say all that.

Kyrie is leading the East and votes. You know, other guys that have missed time. 80's been out. He's third in the Western votes. It doesn't matter for some players. Even if Booker's been on a 35 point per game run, he still might be seventh or 8th and the West vote for guards. It's possible too.

Yeah, but I mean, geez, he was, I know it's a games thing, but man, he was awesome prior to. Oh, he should know, and he should be in. I mean, and that team was, I mean, you see, that guy, he's got like an MVP case just by being out.

Yeah. They're terrible. I really worry about the sons right now, Chris, because, like, you look at them right now. I think in the past with Chris Paul, I pulled up the numbers earlier in the week because I was like planning potentially doing an article and I still might. But the past two years, Chris,

when Chris Paul's been on the floor without Devin Booker, he's been averaging 19.5 points per 36 minutes on a 56% effective fuel goal. This season, Chris Paul on the floor without Devin Booker, he's averaging only 16.7 points per 36 minutes with a 49% effective field goal percentage. So his volume is down, his efficiency is down. So in situations in the past,

when Booker's been off the floor, he's been able to carry a heavier workload. He is no longer able to do that. And James Jones, he built this roster with CP3 and Devin Booker in mind as the key ball handlers, the source of all their offense. There are so few other offensive engines on this team,

guys that can even attack a close-out off the dribble and make an accurate kickout pass. There's not enough guys that can dribble and pass on the rest of the roster. So it's a fundamentally flawed system right now with CP3 not playing at his prior level. And that speaks to your point about Devin Booker really just being the guy for this team and helping them be at the top of the Western Conference before he got hurt. And without him, they are nothing. They need Devin Booker to be a superstar. and I think that's a lot to ask

considering the fact that they built the team around him without enough help. If he's going to be at a long time, they're going to have a lot of ground that they're going to have to be making up in order to be... They might slide. Not be playing on the road

the whole time. They're only two games up on the wolves and two and a half games up on the Lakers. Jeez. I mean, there is always that team that is in the play in that we would have never suspected is in the play in.

And let me just bro, just because I know I'm going to get a bunch of people like, dude, why are you such a hater, blah, blah, blah. You're just bad because Clay not hating. Jumped on. Dylan Brooks. Bro. There's nobody that averages 20 points and shoots 42% from the field

so far this season on the ninth best team in the league. If I took those numbers and I took that situation and put it with anybody else, no one would consider that an all-star year. That's ridiculous. Come on.

We can put fucking Jeremy Grant there too? Jeremy Grant's been damn good. He has. But we're not putting Jeremy Grant in the All-Star game. Come on. He's better numbers than that so far this year. Can we put Clay in the three-point shooting contest at least? Absolutely.

Absolutely. You are a hand. No, that's ridiculous. You want the Warriors in the playoffs so bad. The only ones. You could win the title, but if you don't beat the Warriors along the way, I won't speak to suit for you. You just heard, if you didn't listen to Bill, Bill did his power rankings, whatever.

He texted me the other day. And just to prove to you, he texted me. And he said, I'm doing this power rankings thing. I'm going to be doing a show. He's doing the show by himself, the one that came out yesterday on the the Bill Simmons pot. And he said, who do you fear the most?

So he said, because obviously, I mean, the Grizzlies have the best record in the Western Conference, which is weird. It's not the Pelicans. Let's get a calendar

for the amount of times you say that in an episode. It's just making you, I'm just reminding you that you've cursed the pelicans. This is my answer. Is when I text him back. Golden State with Curry,

still. So much pedigree home court and their starters are like a plus 23 net rating. I think they found the others with Dante Poole and Lamb maybe some others. Another one that's a bitch for the Grizzlies is Dallas because they can't speed up Luca, but that's just a matchup thing. Overall, it's

Golden State. Curry, Clay, Drayman, they still haven't gotten beat when they're all healthy. There you go. That's what I said regarding it. I mean, people say it's a wide open Western Conference. I agree with that. There's a bunch of teams that I could see being the Western Conference Finals.

A lot of it's going to depend on who can be healthy when it comes time. But hell, why don't you go ahead and put Kevin Looney, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole all in the All-Star game? The only ones not voted in the West, oh, you're going to love this. The only ones that were not on the voting at all where I was like, okay, come on. were McCollum and it's crazy that he's never made an all-star game

like that's annoying on the whole you know best guy to never make an all-star game front I rooted for a guy like that for many many years and Mike Conley

you know for years it was like Andre Miller and guys like that and they gave him a BS appearance for just being hucks yeah right yeah he had to get in after a bunch of guys bailed out

CJ, not on the voting list. And then the Sacramento guys. Sabonis for sure. Oh, I know. I mean, Sabonis is averaging 12 and a half rebounds and damn near seven assists the game. That's the biggest disappointment to me is Sabonis and Foxx not being on there. Yeah.

But that speaks to your point about it's a popularity contest. That's right. Most people get it right up top. It's just, it's like four to ten, that's where some, you know, funny stuff happens. Well, and those guys not recognized for the seasons that they've had thus far. You know, we talked about how Gildes-Alexander has been. Those guys were not, at least in the initial fan voting.

And we'll see if it changes as time goes on. In the east, Kyrie, Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Durant, Yonis Anson, Takumpo, Joel, and B. And so Tatum got fourth on the front court in the East. That's right. Do you think that's correct? because that's going to be the thing in reality. It's going to be those four guys, Katie, Yannis, and B. Tatum for three starting front court positions.

I think it's right. I do. I think so, too. And Tatum is unbelievable, and he should be a fourth starter. It's just the silly three front court, two back court rule means that he can't. Well, look, I will say that's better than it used to be, you know, where you had to have a center. Oh, yeah, center, yeah.

And then you end up with Jamal McGlore. I mean, ultimately, it should be, I think, Katie, Yonis, and B. Tatum, Mitchell. But because it can't be Tatum, I think Halliburton should probably be that second guard. He's eighth in the vote right now for guards in the East, behind La Mello Ball,

behind DeMarda Rosen, Trey Young, Jalen Brown, James Hardin. Hala Burton has been absolutely unbelievable for the Pacers. And I'd have him as a starter at the moment next to Donovan Mitchell. Yeah, and by the way, for Tatum, Andy, I think he's even quoted about this.

There's no shame in, oh, geez, I couldn't start over Janus and Durant. I mean, these are all-time great. Literally all-time great. And Katie is playing some of the best basketball of his entire career, which is crazy to say. But we've talked about it week after week with what he's doing defensively.

Yannis is carrying a team without Chris Middleton, other guys in and out of the lineup. And Embed has had, you know, no Hardin for a lot of the season, no Tyrese maxi for a lot of the year. Halliburton, as you mentioned, is eight in the voting.

I do think he will end up getting there as a first time bid when it's all said and done. He is leading the league in an assist, or no, he's second in the league in assist right now to harden. But he's right there. They oscillate back and forth. Of the guys, like, in terms of, like, voting and were you surprised to see anybody,

We had those guys in the West that it took place with. And it's like, really? In the East, not really as much. I mean, I guess a little mellow, you could say because of fame, especially given how much time he has missed. The Rose thing never ceases to amaze me. Oh, no kidding. How big a deal he is still in 2023.

Over the starter. People. The next. Yeah. He just won the game the other night, Jalen Brunson. J-Lauvin' Crazy? Not there.

Derek Gross is on that list. See, it's shocking to me in the sense that like... I just can't believe how famous he still is. I know, but like also how Brunson hasn't gotten that support from Nix fans. Like, the Nix have a huge fan base. It's just surprising. Like, he hasn't been like, like, Darius Garland had 143,000 votes.

I'm surprised Brunson didn't have more than that. I think... Rose may be, there's never been a player that we've underrated his popularity more. Yeah. Than Rose. When is the last time you can, I mean, the last time people really remember a Rose moment is when he was playing in Minnesota. Remember that night he had like the 50 or whatever? And that was like a moment.

Now, scoring 50 was a moment at that time. Yeah, not anymore. Now it's like a nightly affair. Yeah. But really, I mean, I can't remember the last time that I remember like a big Derek Rose moment. And I'm not saying he didn't have like a good second half in a game. But it's not, he hasn't certainly not been front page news and forever, forever. That's the last time he was front page news was that game in Minnesota.

And that was a long-ass time ago now. the other one not only it was Brunton not on the list Randall not on the list for the forward to either and he will get in the All-Star game and that is a overlook by the fans so far

and I am surprised by that simply because he plays in New York it feels like the Brooklyn players they're the ones that got that bump because Claxton was on there Claxton's on there and yet You think Joe Sy has got some bots on Twitter voting?

I don't know. I don't know. I guess it's possible. I wonder, is there a subtle shift going on on the internet. Like maybe it's not happening on the streets in New York and, you know, on radio stations and all that. Like the Knicks are still the more popular team with a much larger share of the fan base. But this vote happens very much online. Yeah.

And so I wonder if. Maybe there's a shift happening on social media with Nets and Nix fandom that isn't happening in reality. Not in the market. It clearly will never resonate as much in the market, but outside of the market. For sure. Yeah. I think that's fair. Yeah.

The other thing is, how about the power of being a former Laker? Bro, that is 100% the reason Kuzma is on that. He's like a celebrity, too, though, too. But that's just Laker fans voting for Guzma. Still. You think Lamello's part of that? Like they're giving love to Lanzo through Lamello? Maybe.

Maybe. Lamello's famous. He is. That team, though? Gross. Oh, they're disgusting. I watched them last night. You saw them the other night.

They're horrible, aren't they? Oh, my God. How many guys would you want on that team, Chris? Not many, right? Yeah. That's what I said. I said, look. I was telling my producer today, after watching that game, there was, if you like just, well, hell, we may have expansion teams in a couple years with Seattle and Las Vegas.

And you did the, like, you can protect your guys. Yeah, right. I would protect Lamello and I would probably protect Mark Williams just because I liked him in college. And that's it. So I liked him coming out of the draft. You can have the rest. Yeah. I really don't care about any of them.

That is damning for an NBA team. That's not true of anybody. Like, if you gave me Houston, I want Jalen, I want Jabari, I'll take Shengun, I'll take Tarisan. If you gave me Orlando, it's easy. There's six of them I'd take off there. Maybe more. But Charlotte, they ain't got nobody. They don't even have to tank Kevin.

They just suck. Yeah. And you know they hate Clifford. you know they do. I don't care what they publicly say. It's unbelievable they actually hired him. Of all coaches,

I know Kenny Atkinson, like that situation kind of was screwed, right? Yeah, they hire Kenny Ackinson, a younger developmental coach. Like, I think is perfect for that team. But then to follow it up

with Steve Clifford, the guy who never likes to play his young players, just really weird. You should have gone to Kenny Ackinson and, like, you should have taught,

you should have brought the whole, whole family in. That's where you made the mistake. Because the big story was Kenny, like, not only was he happy, he was making money, but his family didn't want to move. Yeah, California is pretty nice. Yeah, I mean, his family didn't want to move. The two girls don't want to move. They made roots there.

They got their friends there. They're at a moment in their life where they don't want to just pick up and leave. And I get all of that. But, I mean, if you're Charlotte, man, you better have a, you better have a meeting with the whole family. get them excited about it because that Joker took the job, went back home, and was like, ah, you know, they're like, yeah, where I'm going?

Like, you can go to Charlie. You can go to Charlie. I mean, it'd be like me coming home and my wife being like, yeah, we ain't going. To your point, though, Chris, I mean, like you're talking about the lack of players and keep, of course, maybe you'd say, okay, we'll bank on book night,

Kai Jones, some of the young guys. I'm just saying if you're a hornist fan, you're like, give these guys a chance. That guy was already found with a gun and a bag of Doritos. I saw the picture of TMC. I know. I know.

I understand. I'm just saying in terms of pure on-court basketball village, if you're a hornets fan, you're like, give these guys a chance. That's all. But I'm saying if you're Kenny Atkinson, you go there and you see there's one or two guys that you feel like you could build something with. You're like, wait a minute.

Is this really the job I want to take? Is this really it? It's a different gig. if they still, if the Bridges thing. Yeah, if that didn't happen. If that never happened,

if we're just talking basketball, because obviously that is despicable. And who knows what that situation is going to be, what the NBA ends up doing with it. And, you know, there was that story that kind of got, went out there like,

oh, they're thinking about signing him. And then it just kind of, nothing really has been advanced since then. But at that time, he was a guy that you're probably resigning to $100-something million and bringing a back. And he's part of, you know, that high-flying act that you got with Lamello. And you're thinking this is a core piece and we can build out.

And now we'll get this big guy in the draft. And like, you know, I could have talked myself into it. Just having Lamello, I could have talked myself into it. You know, as long as I got a couple other guys that I could have been okay. But, man, oh, man, they don't even have to tank. They don't have to. They're just horrible. They're awful.

Yeah, they're awful. Yeah, they are. Tide for the worst record in the NBA right now. Yeah, I think kudos to the fans. I think the fans have done a good job thus far on the fan voting. I don't think there's anything that's particularly egregious because only the only thing that matters is who they vote is the starters.

That's the only thing that matters. Yeah. There's nothing egregious regarding the starters. And the way the vote works is it's 50% fans for starters, 25% media, 25% players, and then coaches choose the reserves. Yeah, and I don't think there's anybody. We would swap out Zion for Davis.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. And let's be fair, neither of them were probably going to play in the game. And Aliburn for Kyrie. But even then, Kyrie's been awesome. So I can totally understand keeping Kyrie as a starter spot too. Like, he should be an All-Star at this point.

Let's talk some trade stuff. obviously trade talk is heating up. We had a huge trade, the Bonle trade, just enormous. Let's go a little further, though. Yeah. DeAngelo Russell,

DeAngelo Russell is the name that has come up with us in the past. DeAngeloadrozzled the wolves on Instagram, which is incredibly funny. Is it meaningful? Probably.

Brian Winhorse brought up the heat for him, which is interesting. He called it. He called it a hypothetical. But let me just expound on that a little bit as to why it would make some sense. This is Yossi Goslin wrote, Kyle Lowry struggling with the heat for a second year in a row.

While it's debatable whether Russell is an upgrade or can be a reinvigorated under heat culture, the reasons for doing this would be mainly financial. Miami is set to be close to $20 million over the luxury tax next season after extending Tyler Hero to the four-year $130 million extension. Swapping Lowry, who is owed 29.7 next season for Russell's expiring contract would solve that tax crunch. It's good analysis. Smart. On point. Nothing to add, really. It's just 100% true. There is incentive for. for the heat in terms of team building moving forward and doing that. And I think for them, it also offers more upside this season in terms of helping the roster.

Yeah, that's a big question. Do you think Russell makes the heat better? I would tell you that Lowry is exactly the type of thing Minnesota needs. You know, and I know that Mike Conley's name has come up as a possibility for something Like they need that steadying veteran. Everybody listens to this guy, but he's past the point where he needs to be the man. You know,

not unlike what Chris Paul was able to do in Phoenix. You need somebody like that. It's good fit. And the kind of guy that ain't going to be, you know, he's not worried about Edwards being the man. And in fact, it will encourage Edwards, and make the best out of Edwards to be the man, much like Paul made Booker even better than he was.

I think a Lowry or a Conley or somebody like that is what would be the absolute best case scenario for Minnesota. No brainer. It's an absolute no brainer. I think yeah, Lowry has real value in that situation to me. Yeah, it makes sense for both teams, which is why the wind horse idea is so smart. Yeah.

Like I think for Miami, more upside, better financial position. Minnesota, a better support system for Anthony Edwards. Simple as that. Makes sense. Both teams get better. That'll be a fascinating one to keep up with. Yeah. You know?

And daily, we are now seeing someone interested in Bogdanovich. It feels like the price is just going to keep going out because there's all these teams that are going to want him. Jake Fisher mentioned the calves, the Mavs, the Lakers. sons. I saw another article that mentioned the bucks. I've talked about it as he would be a perfect fit with Memphis. They're looking for three that can stand out there and just bangshops. This guy's shooting over 40% from three. He's having a great season for Detroit.

And he's a win now player. And so for anybody that's trying to win now and go for it, when they talk about the price of it, you know, they say that it's a first round pick and either a young promising player, you know, somebody that could turn into something or more draft capital. You think they end up getting that for Bogdanovich? I'm kind of, I kind of felt like no at the beginning. And yet now, I think there's going to be a lot of teams that are competing.

I think they're going to be able to shop this around and just say, if we don't get what we want, then we're just going to keep him. We don't mind keeping him. In some situations, it could cost you a fortune if you keep a guy. This ain't costing us a fortune. We're fine, money-wise. So, if you want to give us what we want, you can have Bogdanovich. Because he really might be a piece to a title, like a piece that could take you from.

Like, if he went to Cleveland, you've got to look at them differently. if he's the one standing out there getting them Donovan Mitchell kickouts you know didn't you just tell me that Mitchell and Allen are like the very top of the list on pick and roll duos in the league

what if the on the pick and roll that they're running the kickout is to a guy that can knock down threes like that guy I mean that's jeez yeah he's I mean he might be in his you know early 30s right now but he's a game changer that guy's a buck getter has been for years

in Utah. And not only that, Chris, like he's a score, he helps you now, but from the team perspective, right? Like you're thinking about this season, but you're also thinking about the coming years. The extension he signed with Detroit was so smart on the side of the Pistons. Next year,

$20 million. And then the year after that, only $2 million guaranteed with the team having the option at $19 million. So there's a lot of cap flexibility moving forward. with him as well on top of the fact

that for the next year and a half he could help your team win a championship. I think the Pistons can get what they want. I think the Cavs and the Mabbs, those first two that were listed, they're the ones that I would view as much more dangerous upon his arrival.

I don't know about, I don't know if he can save the Lakers. Should the Lakers, let's say the Lakers make that offer, and it's the best offer on the table. Should the Lakers actually be doing that deal or should they still hold on to the pick? Like Detroit calls back and says, okay, well, accept your offer of the unprotected 2027 first

with salary fill for Boyon Bogdanovich. Should the Lakers do that or should they wait? Yeah, I'd wait. I'd wait. I mean, if I'm giving up that pick, I, is that because of fear about 80s? AD's out right now, he's injury prone. So what are you waiting for then? Is he ever going to be healthy?

Does it change your mind dramatically on what the Lakers would be if they attained him? That's my question. I mean, LeBron's unbelievable still. I know he is. And Anthony Davis was playing at an MVP level prior to him going out. You have two top ten guys, Chris. But I mean, you just said it. I agree with you.

Boyon, Bogdanovich. is the type of guy who can take you from good to great, great to amazing. And if you talk about the Lakers condensing their playoff rotation, I'm not saying he'll make them a championship team, but the West is open. It is. It's open.

And if you're throwing out, if you get 80 healthy April, May, right? And you got Davis, LeBron, Bogdanovich, Schroeder, and like Reeves or whoever the fifth is. What I'm saying is this Bogdanovich changed swing dramatically. Look, Kevin, they had a healthy. He's really good. Well, but there's the thing.

If you're trading, if you're trading that one pick for Bogdanovich, you're probably also willing to trade that other one in a separate deal. So it wouldn't just be poor out of Bogdanovich. They had for a large portion of what we had in the season so far, a healthy LeBron and a healthy Anthony Davis, and they sucked. So we're not talking about something that we haven't. seen already. We've seen them and they suck. Yeah, because they have. So the question is, because the supporter cast stinks. So you think

that one guy, Bogdanovich, now changes that into now I can play for a championship? No, no. I think the way I look at it is if you're going to give up that pick for Bogdanovich, it means you're also willing to give up that other pick in a separate deal. And if you, if you have that separate deal, maybe they gets you two guys for the Russ contract. Like Beverly would be the contract to use. for Bogdanovich, Beverly and Nunn, something like that.

And then Russell Westbrook would be the pick, would be the, you attach the pick to him and a separate deal for two or three guys. So in total, you'd be getting like four

quality rotation players back for two players and two picks. What makes you believe that Rob Plankett could pull that off? Come on. I mean, if any of us, I'm sure,

look at what he's done to that roster. If it, that roster is a disaster. To build a, to build a, How do you F up building around LeBron, James, and Anthony Davis? They've done it. Well, they traded for Russell Westbrook.

That's the problem. I'm aware. That was the big mistake. I'm aware. It's too bad. Injury week has been absolutely brutal. Got the prognosis on Zion. Probably going to be the month more.

Who knows? I mean, I was watching that game. He's. grabbing a rebound off the rim. I mean, he's in a full sprint to the other end, and then he just, you know, blew a tire. He just grabs the back of his leg and drops the ball. And I was like, oh, no.

Because, I mean, the second anybody that was watching it, the second it happened, you knew. He grabs the back of his leg. And so he's going to have to heal up on the hamstring front and is now going to miss a significant amount of time. At least three weeks. Yeah. That's tough.

Well, and hopefully they get in. Ingram back in the fold quickly for them. But it will be tough. If they don't get Ingram back, that is a lot to put on CJ for sure. I hope Willie Green uses this time to get experimental. You know, use like Herb Jones, you're seeing teams already sag off him behind the three point line. You know, tap into what he did at Alabama. You know, he handled the ball.

He ran points sometimes. So like, use him in some DHOs. get him involved in those type of actions and see if he can force defenses to respect them on the perimeter in a different type of way, rather than just hitting catch-and-shoot-3s. It's a good opportunity without Zion and without Ingram in the meantime. Well, and I told you, they can get a lot more out of Valcunis, scoring and rebound-wise. And I'm sure that's what they'll do. No doubt.

It'll be a lot of two-man with Valetutis on the inside and CJ on the outside. You've seen some of the games in the absence of those players that Valentunis has gone. very big already this year. Embed, again, you're always worried big guys and feed. It's just always something to keep an eye on because make no mistake, their championship hopes are dependent upon him being able to be healthy. So just keep an eye on it.

Hopefully it's not a big deal. Hopefully he's going to be able to come back. But you hope it's not something that lingers or something that could get worse or aggravated. It's just something to keep an eye on. And he is having an unbelievable season so far this year. And so you don't want to get that taken away from us for any extended amount of time. He was questionable the other night.

So hopefully it means, you know, back pretty soon. Yes. Kevin, I'm going to have to just, I mean, I'm so close to, the stock is not on the market, but Marvin Bagley is just never going to play basketball for an extended amount of time. It's unbelievable. You're going to sell it a loss? It's too late for the end of the year. Oh, no, no, dude, the thing is worthless. I mean, I just can't.

I got to hold on to it now. You know what I mean? You got to hold on to it now. It's like my Ethereum. What am I going to do? Sell it? Don't want to offset your beans for job or anything like that? Don't want to offset your gains for John. I'm not offsetting anything.

But poor Marvin Bagley, just never going to play it extended about a basketball. Even on a rat team, unbelievable. I mean, it's too bad. Killian just got back, too. You know, unbelievable performance the other night with his passing. Yeah. Speaking of guys putting up numbers on rat teams, Kelly Ubrey out for a long time. He may have been a guy that people would go and try to trade for.

Oh, yeah. I was thinking about him. Yeah, the problem is, They tried to put him in a big time winning environment. He was a dud in Golden State. Yeah. He was. Perfect environment for him.

He's just not that good. Yeah. They tried. They tried. You know what I mean? We saw him. That's what it looks like. And I know that system's a little bit harder, but come on.

You should be able to. You should have been able to have more success that he did there. He's probably, you know, he can trade fashion tips with LaBello and Charlotte. They're probably having fun doing that. Devin Vassell? was one of the big bright spots for the Sari Spurs. You know, and as a fan, you know, just putting myself at a Spurs fan's position, something like you can get excited about.

It's like, hey, at least we got this guy. And this guy looks like he's really promising, developing, whatever, you know, whatever kind of term you want to use. But now Bacel is going to be out for a long time. I guess he's getting some kind of procedure done. Yeah. Is this the, aka the SGA?

I mean, is that what this is? Well, good for the Spurs. Yeah. I mean, Vassell is one of the only reasons why they were even competitive in certain games. It's not crazy to think so.

Hey, look, Presti learned from the best, maybe. This is an old Spurs guy. I mean, the thing is, is they stunk with Vesel, they stink without Vesel.

It really doesn't make that much of a difference. More than anything else, it just makes the Spurs a less watchable team because Vassell was such a fun bucket getter. His development this year was super, super, super productive in terms of like projecting this team forward.

He's become a guy that you can rely on to get a bucket off the dribble. He can create his own shot. He's a smart playmaker. He's a good, individual defender, he can shoot off the catch. He does so many good things for your team. He is going to play winning basketball someday.

Whether that's in San Antonio with a totally different roster or someday with a different team, Vesel has all these winning qualities. It's just unfortunate for San Antonio right now. He called him the Sari Spurs. That's pretty accurate. Yeah, and then Brad Beals out at least a week.

Who knows? I mean, there's sometimes I watch... They should be tanking, so... Sometimes I watch the Wizards, and I'm like, you know what, this team's pretty good. And then other times, are terrible. So I don't. It's like when they've got all their guys, they're not terrible.

No, unfortunately has been good. They had gotten Dilan right back and they had gotten like, when they got like they're a rotation. They're not bad. Yeah. They're just okay. Yeah.

They're fine. Yeah, they're okay. They're that type of team, which is what the wizards have been for 50 years. Which is what you don't want to be. Right. Well, tell them 50 years ago.

Oh, I know. All right. Last thing I want to get to is a little draft stuff. I'll tell you that on my local show and my old buddy John Hollinger. Oh, yeah. And he had just, much like you, broadcasted a Victor Wemba Yamma game, the bit they do through NBA.com. He did the All-Star game or the last game prior to the All-Star Game? No, the last game where, like, they had like this 20-point coming.

back in it. He was making all kinds of threes and whatever else. Okay. But I asked him, I said, look, sometimes we deal in real hyperbole when it comes to

any of these draft prospects. And one of the things that has been quoted from, quote, executives, is that Wembeama is the greatest prospect we've ever seen. And I said,

do you buy that? And he said, Much like you, speaking to me, I was ready to say, okay, let's pump the brakes a minute. He's like, and then I went to Vegas. We were sitting near each other, me and John. And he said, obviously, I called that game just the other night. He said, I think he is the best NBA prospect since Lou Al Cinder. Wow.

And I was like, wow. What? What? That's what he said. And then I said, you might have seen where I tweeted out after that Scoot Henderson I like, because I've been keeping tabs on Scoot Henderson. I'm going to get to see him in person twice at the end of February. And I said, I said something like, this guy ain't no consolation prize.

And I was like, and I really feel that way, John, just watching. I mean, freaking, man. And he backed me up on this. This is just his opinion. So he said, he said, I. think in most any other year, he is a clear number one. And he is very reminiscent to me of pre-injury Rose. He's like, and talking to me, he said, which you know well. Because I covered that 2008 Memphis team that Rose was on. So I saw Rose, you know, when he was come, right, like the

year before he went into the NBA draft. Scroo's got that pop like him, like that donkey had the other He's got that explosiveness. Yo, that energy. That dunk over the weekend, he's still rising. It's almost like a double pump. And then cocks it back from the side and spikes it on the guy's head. I'm like, God, that is just rarefied air. When I interviewed Scoot in Vegas back in August or October, whatever it was,

I asked him about, like, do you want to dunk on my band, yeah? He's like, I want to dunk on everybody. Yeah. And he does. He can dunk on everybody. And someday in the NBA, he very well might dunk on Victor Weniama. I don't know if you saw that interview. He did recently where they were like, do you, you excited?

People are talking about you and thinking you could be a face of a franchise. He's like, I think I should be the face of a franchise. Look how handsome I am or something like that. And I'm like, oh my God, I love this guy. He's got character for sure. He's like, look at my face. I should be the face of a franchise. And that's the thing with these two guys, scoot and.

and Victor Wenban Yama, both of them, good kids, hard workers, good people. Like, they want to be the best basketball player they can be. They love the game. They love to work hard. They both want to get better. They both check all these intangible categories off that you want to bet on these people as young men, you know, growing into the NBA when they're getting paid millions of dollars. Like, everything I've heard about them and in my time talking with Scoot, like, they seem like the types who are going to maximize whatever it is that they're going to become.

Well, hey, and this is a good one because we're not getting to know these guys as well simply because they're not playing American College basketball like we're usually used to when these guys. And that's true of a lot of the guys that are going to be in the lottery upcoming this year. And I know that recently on the NBA draft show that you and J. Kyle man do, which everybody should download every single week and listen to, especially if you're listening to this podcast, come on, you're hardcore. do love Kevin. So you've got to listen to the draft podcast where they're talking about these prospects regularly. You guys, I guess there's two weeks ago, did a deal about the Thompson twins.

Amman Thompson, Azura Thompson, who Florida kids now playing for overtime elite, two twins. And people may recall, if they listen to this podcast, that

I talked about them briefly over the summer when I'd seen them. In person. Yeah, I had gotten this email. Overtime was coming in. Mike Miller was going to be working them out. Penny Hardaway is going to be working them out, some other guys. And the gym actually happened to be like right by my house.

So I'm going to tell this story simply because you just talked about Scoot and Victor and all the things you've heard about this with them. So I don't live far from this gym over time like, hey, these kids are both coming over time. Would you come check them out? I was like, yeah, yeah, if I can get over there. And so I'm going to go over there one just random night in the summer and then the Thompson twins are going to be there working out. And I text the guy and I'm like, hey, do you care if my son goes?

Because I had asked my son, I said, have you ever heard of the Thompson twins? And he's like, yes. And I'm like, this is crazy. Like, kids, they always know everything before you. There ain't no rapper I can ask him. He knows the rapper, right? And it's now with basketball players. Like, because of social media, there is an awareness that just has never existed before.

So I'm like, can he come with me? And they're like, yeah. So I just bring him down. We're just going to watch the workout. We're going to stay quiet on the side, right? You get done with the workout. These kids come up, introduce himself. whatever. Kevin, when I tell you, it's like, yes, sir, no, sir, yes, sir, no. And I'm like,

hold on now. Like, you guys don't have to. Right. Like, really. And they don't know me from anybody. It's not like I'm Adrian Ward Janowski standing over there. Okay. And I just got sweats on. You know, they introduced me like, hey, this Chris, they were so nice, so kind. And then interacting with my son. Now, you got to keep in mind, these kids are straight out of high school. interacting with my son. They're talking to him, asking him questions about his basketball, all this stuff. I'm like, this is crazy. I'm like, yo, I don't even care what they end up looking like.

I'm drafting these kids. And then I met the kid's parents. And oh, they're awesome too. Awesome. Like the apple does not fall far from the tree. So I'm telling you, like, whenever you're doing like your draft stuff, like I was around those kids and then I met the parents

and I didn't know nothing about any of them of course I'd never seen them play basketball before I'm watching this workout I'm like oh my God like that same kind of

athleticism that we talk about I saw these kids like drop step 360s drop step windmills I'm like they're 6-7 they're so explosive

so fast in the draft guy coming out later this month. For Amen Thompson, let me know what you think about these shades of comparisons, Chris. Tall John Morant, B. Pole, Zion Williamson.

Perfect. Oh, he's freaky. And then Osar Thompson, I got this one I'm a little, I'm sure of. He's like slightly worse of an athlete than I'm in, but still an elite athlete. Either like Lonzo Ball with elite athleticism or Sean Livingston with elite athleticism,

something like that for Osara. I don't know. I'm not sure with the comp on him yet, but I like the Alman Thompson comps that I have. I'm telling you, those kids, they are not, they're not going to fail because of what's between the ears. Oh, no doubt about it.

They're good kids. You know what I mean? Hard workers. It's like same thing. It's like ditto to what we just talked about with Scoot and Wembe. If those are the top four players to get drafted. Amen likely goes top three or four, right?

If Alsara is also drafted back. high, that is for high quality people that the organization is drafting. That you can trust to work hard and do the things that they need to do to become the best that they can be. And whether they become that,

whether like Aman or Astar's jumper ever works out, if there's spacing issues, that's a totally different thing. But these, like, the both of them have worked their asses off to improve their jumpers to improve their form and mechanics. And you hope it actually manifests over the course of time because they're so talented, man.

Hey, let me ask you this. There's a million. of these guys, not a million, but there's several of them that are either like in the case of Wimblyama overseas or overtime elite

or in the case of Scoot playing for the G League Ignite. Like, who's the highest American college basketball player you have on any of the lists? Is it the kid from Arkansas?

I mean, like Nick Smith from Arkansas would be one of them that you'd consider or Anthony Black from Arkansas, their teammates. Right now, the consensus choice, not my personal one, would be Cam Whitmore from Villanova. He's like a really beefy defensive player. His shot needs to improve, but he's got a good handle.

He can attack off the bounds. He makes smart decisions like all Villanova players do. I'd give the slight edge to Brandon Miller out of Alabama just because of the confidence in him becoming a knockdown shooter in the NBA. he's shown the ability to just hit off the catch, hit off a movement, hit off of the dribble. He just needs to more than anything else gets stronger to improve his scoring inside the arc. I know the arguments against Vernon Miller are lack of handle compared to some of the other guys up top. But I think you look at this year's draft that's largely international with Wembe or G League with Scoot, OTE with Amen and Osar.

and then with the American prospects it's really like a matter of your own tastes and your own team needs more than anything else. Like even like Keonté George out of Baylor, he had a big game the other night. He's like a three-level scoring guard. You know, he's good defensively bust his ass on that end.

He can pass a little bit. Like I think with NBA spacing, he could really explode. So like it's really a matter of taste and what your team needs are after some of those top guys. I haven't caught up yet. What's this week's episode?

The Draft. episode. Do you want to remember? I don't even remember. You just did the damn thing this week. Let me pick it on with you. Literally recorded it this week.

Oh yeah, I remember. I remember I get you. All right, I'll pick it up right now. Unless you want to keep this in. I don't care. Yeah,

we're keeping it in. This is what I deal with people. Everybody's like, how do you put it up with Chris on time, Kevin? people say that about me no people say that about me no they say that about me

I don't know how do you I'm a nerd I'm always all the numbers I just want to blow it up that's all this is what I deal with this guy can't even remember a new podcast

he did yesterday do you remember every show that you did do I remember the one I did yesterday but do you yeah but do you remember Tuesday one day last Friday I didn't do a show last Friday. I work a lot, Chris.

I do a whole bunch of different stuff. I'm doing draft guide. I'm doing everything. What's the episode? We talked about Scoot Henderson coming back. And Kyle is a little bit more skeptical about Scoot being number two. Because he loves Amman Thompson so much. All right.

And so I asked him about like what do you need for what do you need to see from Scoot for him to solidify his position? at number two. We talked about Wemby and the teams that should tank for Wemby because you don't think anybody should

tank. I wanted to ask Kyle his opinion on teams that should tank. I mean, there's some of these teams that have no choice, right?

Of course, not those teams. We were talking about the teams in the middle, like Toronto, Chicago, Washington,

those types of teams. And then after that, we talked about Maxwell Lewis out of Pepper Dine. Kind of a sleeper prospect

to be a pepper dine. Yeah, Maxwell Lewis out of Pepperdine. Yep, right up the road in Malibu. I'm going to, I was hoping to see his game at Santa Clara tonight, but I'll go to the next. You ever seen their campus? My God. Oh, it's so gorgeous.

I remember seeing it for the first time. I'm like, why didn't I go to school there? That looks like heaven. Imagine going to school there? I'd have never done anything. Yeah. I guess that's probably why I didn't go. Not to mention it wasn't like I was getting a scholarship.

No. I mean, I will say this. I lost you a fortune. It's not like my parents are going to pay for me to go out to fricking Malibu, California.

I went on a date with a girl that was going to school there and she said to me that the thing about that campus is, you know, when she was going there,

it's not near anything. Like you're in Malibu, but you're not, you're like closed L.A. Oh, I'm just saying. I hope you called the date off. I'd have said, get out here.

That's in exoner feedback from bitching about being on the frigging most beautiful beach of the world. The first, The problem is it's not near anything. Oh, my God.

Except the ocean and the beach and heaven. But if you need toilet paper, you got to drive a minute. I'm just giving you the feedback. Was there a second date? There was two dates and that's all. Proud of you. Yeah. Proud of you.

All right. It's going to do it for this episode. Thank you to our executive producer, Jesse Lopez, as always. Kevin, I'll talk to you next week. I'm looking forward to it, Chris. Have a good weekend at it, though.